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What I hate most about Apple Maps is that reports about incorrect data never seem to go anywhere. Apple Maps thinks that the road that leads to my house is a on

What I hate most about Apple Maps is that reports about incorrect data never seem to go anywhere. Apple Maps thinks that the road that leads to my house is a one-way street. It's not. But because of this error Apple Maps always wants to send me on a 5 minutes detour if I try to use it to navigate home. I've reported the problem twice but never got an answer or a correction. In fact all problems I've ever reported in the Maps app were completely ignored. This is why I don't use Apple Maps.

zippergz 7y ago
This is absolutely true, but it's not unique to Apple Maps. I've had an issue with the major road near my house in Google Maps for over three years, where it thinks a certain stretch is either absent or impassible. It shows it on the visual map, but it will go to astounding lengths to route you around that one-block stretch of (perfectly fine) road. I have reported it MANY times, and nothing has ever changed.
- chipperyman573 7y ago
  I report things on GMaps all the time and it usually updates the maps within minutes (I get an email) I'm also a local guide though so that might have something to do with it
  - icebraining 7y ago
    Same here, though it's usually a few hours, not minutes. I'm not in the US, tough, it may be that there are different review teams for different areas.
- FireBeyond 7y ago
  I have something like that too. There's a one block section that didn't have a road through it due to a water tower, but now (as in 10 years ago) does. Apple Maps routes me around it constantly. Despite error submissions _and_ the trip data that they must have, showing multitudes of vehicles apparently driving through a field to continue on the road... no change.
- m4rtink 7y ago
  That's the nice thing with OpenStreetMap & mapping services using data from it. You can just register to OSM and fix the data and that's it. The OSM interface will update almost instantly while services based on OSM data will get the fix once they do their next data update.
  - briandear 7y ago
    What’s to protect against false/bad/malicious data?
    - mistrial9 7y ago
      OSM edits have been an "optimistic lock" -- changes are deemed good until they are proven not good.. all changes in OSM have an author ID associated, so that they can search and "rollback" bad changes.. it has been that way since the beginning.. post-New York renamed and a few other embarrassments, there are new steps added for verification, by some workflows, but it is in transition AFAIK
- psadri 7y ago
  Google and Apple should be able to infer the presence/status of roads based on telemetry from all the phones out there in the world. If a bunch of people regularly pass through a path at a car like speed, it’s likely a road.
handedness 7y ago
That's odd, as every correction I've submitted has been applied. On average, Google is significantly faster at processing them, though.
pier25 7y ago
Contrast that with Google Maps. I've submitted multiple corrections over the years and 90% have been live in just a few hours.
- privateSFacct 7y ago
  Agreed - I'm curious how they are able to globally deploy so quickly where others (apple / tom tom) take FOREVER to update. Do they just have someone ground truth with satellite and street view? They do have that data for most of the corrections I make (which are frankly rare).
  - ceejayoz 7y ago
    Waze has volunteer local editors - I've hit "report map issue" and gotten messages from them with questions about what I was reporting. I wonder if Google leverages them internally.
    - pfranz 7y ago
      Are temporary closures automated? I feel like in Waze I gave them enough information when reporting about things like construction or flooding that they could be integrated almost immediately--similar to road hazards or stopped vehicles.
Invictus0 7y ago
Google maps doesn't even need you to report anything. I used to make a forbidden left turn every day on my way to work with Google maps running. After a while, it just updated the directions to include my bad driving: no report necessary.
- aabhay 7y ago
  How can you be sure that it was automatic? Maybe someone just reported that turn?
  - Invictus0 7y ago
    There was a large sign at that intersection that said no left turn, which I disregarded because it was 6am and there were no cars there at all. Of course it's still possible that someone reported it, but that seems fairly unlikely.
- bobbylarrybobby 7y ago
  Are you sure that no one reported that change?
dkonofalski 7y ago
Are you sure this isn't selective bias? Google and Apple both probably prioritize corrections like this based on the number of people reporting them. If you've reported this twice and no one else has, they have little incentive to prioritize this request over reports from more busy roadways.
reaperducer 7y ago
What I hate most about Apple Maps is that reports about incorrect data never seem to go anywhere. I wonder if this is geographic-specific. I regularly report errors in Nevada, California, Arizona, and most recently Colorado, and they've always been corrected within a few weeks. I get an alert on my devices when it happens. Sometimes they revert and I report them again, but I don't recall ever having a map error report ignored.
oflannabhra 7y ago
The turnaround time is actually one of the biggest reasons Apple under took this initiative. Previously, issues were reported to Apple, who then had to vend them back to their data sources (TomTom amongst others). It was up to the data sources to implement the changes. Now, issues reported to Apple can be immediately acted upon, or compared to other data, or reviewed by employees, or even can be marked for validation during another "drive-by". > "There’s also the matter of corrections, updates and changes entering a long loop of submission to validation to update when you’re dealing with external partners. The Maps team would have to be able to correct roads, pathways and other updating features in days or less, not months. Not to mention the potential competitive advantages it could gain from building and updating traffic data from hundreds of millions of iPhones, rather than relying on partner data." from [0] [0] - https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/29/apple-is-rebuilding-maps-from-the-ground-up/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/29/apple-is-rebuilding-maps-f...
- ksec 7y ago
  So Apple actually own the Data in the new Map? Or by that I mean Apple it itself it also part of the Data Source?
  - kccqzy 7y ago
    Yes. Basically the map in the United States is all Apple's data now, except for certain things like POI photos and reviewers (Yelp).
  - oflannabhra 7y ago
    Yes, they originated all of the "Look-Around" data (equivalent to Street View), all of the 3D data, and much, if not all, of the road data. I believe they purchase satellite data. They built up their own fleet of vans. Today marks the last section of the country to switch over to the new system.
    - ksec 7y ago
      I have been wondering if it makes sense for Apple to also own the Satellite data with their own Satellite. Given how cheap it is to launch Satellite with Space X now. There was a rumours Apple hiring Satellite expert not a long while ago.
gnicholas 7y ago
> What I hate most about Apple Maps is that reports about incorrect data never seem to go anywhere. Wow, I've had the opposite experience. I've only used it a handful of times, but when I've reported incorrect phone numbers and such, it's always been fixed in just a few days, and I receive a notification through the app that they've done it. I found the experience to be impressively fast and painless. Sorry to hear it's not that way for everyone! Where are you located, and what version of the OS were you running when you reported these things? For reference, I live near Palo Alto, and it's possible they are more responsive to requests here. I have only reported issues recently, with iOS 12/13.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- pfranz 7y ago
  Other comments mentioned Apple had issues correcting streets/routes because they had to be corrected downstream (they licensed from places like TomTom). Part of the goal of this update is to bring it all in-house improving the turnaround time. I wonder if your corrections, like phone numbers, we're on Apple's end and much easier to correct?
  - inimino 7y ago
    nit: upstream Data flows downstream, from the maintainer or canonical source-of-truth to wherever it is used. It's changes in the opposite direction, upstream, that are expensive and slow.
- skrause 7y ago
  > Where are you located, and what version of the OS were you running when you reported these things? I live in Germany and I think I was running iOS 12 when I reported the issues. Maybe Apple only looks at reports in the USA...
ASalazarMX 7y ago
> In fact all problems I've ever reported in the Maps app were completely ignored. I call this "minimalist customer service".
y-c-o-m-b 7y ago
I submitted a map correction to Google maps a few years back. They had our satellite office listed a quarter mile from where it actually was. I gave them the correct place with screenshots, verification I worked for the company, and arrows pointing to the exact location along with their own street view of the actual building. It took well over a month for them to respond and they still got it wrong. Now it shows us at the building two doors down from us, but at least that's better than a quarter mile.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
aendruk 7y ago
What we need is a map that's organized like Wikipedia—anyone can immediately contribute to it.
- dizzydot 7y ago
  Like Open Street Maps?
beering 7y ago
For Apple Maps this is also country-dependent, since different countries/regions use different map data sources. The turnaround time for regions covered by Apple's own data would be fastest to change, I assume, followed by OpenStreetMap, with third-party vendor (e.g. TomTom) being the slowest. But I don't know how much OSM and TomTom are still used in Apple Maps.
tssva 7y ago
About a year ago I noticed that for some reason Google Maps occasionally reported my house being 3 blocks from where it is. None of the other houses on my street had this issue. I filed a correction with Google expecting a long delay for it to be resolved. I received notification in 45 minutes to an hour that the issue had been resolved.
city41 7y ago
I have the same problem, except for me, when entering my address the resulting address the app chooses is over 30 minutes away (my neighborhood is about 18 months old). I never use Apple maps, but I have found pretty much everyone else does. My address not being in there has become a huge hassle. I also submitted a correction in the app to no avail. So I tweeted at AppleSupport and they assigned me a dedicated support person to handle my "case". It's been weeks now. The support person keeps calling me to tell me "no word yet from the engineering team". Thankfully I'm moving soon, but this headache applies to all the new houses in this neighborhood.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

zippergz 7y ago

This is absolutely true, but it's not unique to Apple Maps. I've had an issue with the major road near my house in Google Maps for over three years, where it thinks a certain stretch is either absent or impassible. It shows it on the visual map, but it will go to astounding lengths to route you around that one-block stretch of (perfectly fine) road. I have reported it MANY times, and nothing has ever changed.

chipperyman573 7y ago
I report things on GMaps all the time and it usually updates the maps within minutes (I get an email) I'm also a local guide though so that might have something to do with it
- icebraining 7y ago
  Same here, though it's usually a few hours, not minutes. I'm not in the US, tough, it may be that there are different review teams for different areas.
FireBeyond 7y ago
I have something like that too. There's a one block section that didn't have a road through it due to a water tower, but now (as in 10 years ago) does. Apple Maps routes me around it constantly. Despite error submissions _and_ the trip data that they must have, showing multitudes of vehicles apparently driving through a field to continue on the road... no change.
m4rtink 7y ago
That's the nice thing with OpenStreetMap & mapping services using data from it. You can just register to OSM and fix the data and that's it. The OSM interface will update almost instantly while services based on OSM data will get the fix once they do their next data update.
- briandear 7y ago
  What’s to protect against false/bad/malicious data?
  - mistrial9 7y ago
    OSM edits have been an "optimistic lock" -- changes are deemed good until they are proven not good.. all changes in OSM have an author ID associated, so that they can search and "rollback" bad changes.. it has been that way since the beginning.. post-New York renamed and a few other embarrassments, there are new steps added for verification, by some workflows, but it is in transition AFAIK
psadri 7y ago
Google and Apple should be able to infer the presence/status of roads based on telemetry from all the phones out there in the world. If a bunch of people regularly pass through a path at a car like speed, it’s likely a road.

handedness 7y ago

That's odd, as every correction I've submitted has been applied. On average, Google is significantly faster at processing them, though.

pier25 7y ago

Contrast that with Google Maps. I've submitted multiple corrections over the years and 90% have been live in just a few hours.

privateSFacct 7y ago
Agreed - I'm curious how they are able to globally deploy so quickly where others (apple / tom tom) take FOREVER to update. Do they just have someone ground truth with satellite and street view? They do have that data for most of the corrections I make (which are frankly rare).
- ceejayoz 7y ago
  Waze has volunteer local editors - I've hit "report map issue" and gotten messages from them with questions about what I was reporting. I wonder if Google leverages them internally.
  - pfranz 7y ago
    Are temporary closures automated? I feel like in Waze I gave them enough information when reporting about things like construction or flooding that they could be integrated almost immediately--similar to road hazards or stopped vehicles.

Invictus0 7y ago

Google maps doesn't even need you to report anything. I used to make a forbidden left turn every day on my way to work with Google maps running. After a while, it just updated the directions to include my bad driving: no report necessary.

aabhay 7y ago
How can you be sure that it was automatic? Maybe someone just reported that turn?
- Invictus0 7y ago
  There was a large sign at that intersection that said no left turn, which I disregarded because it was 6am and there were no cars there at all. Of course it's still possible that someone reported it, but that seems fairly unlikely.
bobbylarrybobby 7y ago
Are you sure that no one reported that change?

dkonofalski 7y ago

Are you sure this isn't selective bias? Google and Apple both probably prioritize corrections like this based on the number of people reporting them. If you've reported this twice and no one else has, they have little incentive to prioritize this request over reports from more busy roadways.

reaperducer 7y ago

What I hate most about Apple Maps is that reports about incorrect data never seem to go anywhere. I wonder if this is geographic-specific. I regularly report errors in Nevada, California, Arizona, and most recently Colorado, and they've always been corrected within a few weeks. I get an alert on my devices when it happens. Sometimes they revert and I report them again, but I don't recall ever having a map error report ignored.

oflannabhra 7y ago

The turnaround time is actually one of the biggest reasons Apple under took this initiative. Previously, issues were reported to Apple, who then had to vend them back to their data sources (TomTom amongst others). It was up to the data sources to implement the changes. Now, issues reported to Apple can be immediately acted upon, or compared to other data, or reviewed by employees, or even can be marked for validation during another "drive-by". > "There’s also the matter of corrections, updates and changes entering a long loop of submission to validation to update when you’re dealing with external partners. The Maps team would have to be able to correct roads, pathways and other updating features in days or less, not months. Not to mention the potential competitive advantages it could gain from building and updating traffic data from hundreds of millions of iPhones, rather than relying on partner data." from [0] [0] - https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/29/apple-is-rebuilding-maps-from-the-ground-up/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/29/apple-is-rebuilding-maps-f...

ksec 7y ago
So Apple actually own the Data in the new Map? Or by that I mean Apple it itself it also part of the Data Source?
- kccqzy 7y ago
  Yes. Basically the map in the United States is all Apple's data now, except for certain things like POI photos and reviewers (Yelp).
- oflannabhra 7y ago
  Yes, they originated all of the "Look-Around" data (equivalent to Street View), all of the 3D data, and much, if not all, of the road data. I believe they purchase satellite data. They built up their own fleet of vans. Today marks the last section of the country to switch over to the new system.
  - ksec 7y ago
    I have been wondering if it makes sense for Apple to also own the Satellite data with their own Satellite. Given how cheap it is to launch Satellite with Space X now. There was a rumours Apple hiring Satellite expert not a long while ago.

gnicholas 7y ago

> What I hate most about Apple Maps is that reports about incorrect data never seem to go anywhere. Wow, I've had the opposite experience. I've only used it a handful of times, but when I've reported incorrect phone numbers and such, it's always been fixed in just a few days, and I receive a notification through the app that they've done it. I found the experience to be impressively fast and painless. Sorry to hear it's not that way for everyone! Where are you located, and what version of the OS were you running when you reported these things? For reference, I live near Palo Alto, and it's possible they are more responsive to requests here. I have only reported issues recently, with iOS 12/13.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
pfranz 7y ago
Other comments mentioned Apple had issues correcting streets/routes because they had to be corrected downstream (they licensed from places like TomTom). Part of the goal of this update is to bring it all in-house improving the turnaround time. I wonder if your corrections, like phone numbers, we're on Apple's end and much easier to correct?
- inimino 7y ago
  nit: upstream Data flows downstream, from the maintainer or canonical source-of-truth to wherever it is used. It's changes in the opposite direction, upstream, that are expensive and slow.
skrause 7y ago
> Where are you located, and what version of the OS were you running when you reported these things? I live in Germany and I think I was running iOS 12 when I reported the issues. Maybe Apple only looks at reports in the USA...

ASalazarMX 7y ago

> In fact all problems I've ever reported in the Maps app were completely ignored. I call this "minimalist customer service".

y-c-o-m-b 7y ago

I submitted a map correction to Google maps a few years back. They had our satellite office listed a quarter mile from where it actually was. I gave them the correct place with screenshots, verification I worked for the company, and arrows pointing to the exact location along with their own street view of the actual building. It took well over a month for them to respond and they still got it wrong. Now it shows us at the building two doors down from us, but at least that's better than a quarter mile.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

aendruk 7y ago

What we need is a map that's organized like Wikipedia—anyone can immediately contribute to it.

dizzydot 7y ago
Like Open Street Maps?

beering 7y ago

For Apple Maps this is also country-dependent, since different countries/regions use different map data sources. The turnaround time for regions covered by Apple's own data would be fastest to change, I assume, followed by OpenStreetMap, with third-party vendor (e.g. TomTom) being the slowest. But I don't know how much OSM and TomTom are still used in Apple Maps.

tssva 7y ago

About a year ago I noticed that for some reason Google Maps occasionally reported my house being 3 blocks from where it is. None of the other houses on my street had this issue. I filed a correction with Google expecting a long delay for it to be resolved. I received notification in 45 minutes to an hour that the issue had been resolved.

city41 7y ago

I have the same problem, except for me, when entering my address the resulting address the app chooses is over 30 minutes away (my neighborhood is about 18 months old). I never use Apple maps, but I have found pretty much everyone else does. My address not being in there has become a huge hassle. I also submitted a correction in the app to no avail. So I tweeted at AppleSupport and they assigned me a dedicated support person to handle my "case". It's been weeks now. The support person keeps calling me to tell me "no word yet from the engineering team". Thankfully I'm moving soon, but this headache applies to all the new houses in this neighborhood.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]